One of the most overused phrases in writing is Show Don't Tell. It's also a fundamental truth of good writing and something that new writers struggle with.
So how does one show and not tell in a narrative?
Write action. Don't tell the reader that Jack and Jill are going through a bad breakup, show us their argument. Do they throw the pots and pans at each other, scream, hit each other? Does one person storm out and slam the door, or lock themselves in the bedroom? If you describe the scene well, you should never have to say that these two characters are going through a bad break up, it should be obvious to the reader from the way they fight. Don't tell the reader what you want them to know, let them discover it through the actions of the characters. So don't say that Jane felt disconnected from her friends because they didn't know she was pregnant, show us Jane out with her friends and the conflicts that arise because they don't know. Do they want to go to a bar? Do they smoke around her? How does she react? Give the reader those actions.
Write specific scenes. This is closely tied to writing action. Give your readers specific scenes where they can see the characters interact. Show us the scene with Jane in the bar, trying to stay away from the cigarette smoke and drinking Sprite even though her friends don't notice. Show the friends getting drunk while Jane stays sober.
In the same way, describe the fight between Jack and Jill, give us their dialogue. That scene should help drive all the action that comes after it.
Details details details. The more detailed you can make your scenes and characters the better. The more detail you give anything in writing the more real the narrative feels and the more invested your reader is.
More importantly, the more detail you give the reader the less you have to tell them. Your goal as a writer is to let the reader discover the information you want them to have in the narrative without having to tell them what you want them to know. So you shouldn't have to say that Jane is pregnant. That conclusion should come naturally from the details you've provided. Details are going to make the story come alive in the minds of the readers.
Be wary of exposition. Exposition is often necessary, but if you're writing exposition you're probably telling your reader about something that you could be showing them. Exposition is good if you need to give your reader back-story or information that is relevant to the story but exists outside the plot. Exposition is good if you want to show what your character is thinking, but that should supplement specific scenes, not take their place.
Showing and not telling takes practice and the habit of new writers is to stray into exposition heavy narratives. I do this. A good strategy is to write all the exposition out in the first draft, just to get the story down on paper. Then when you go back to revise, turn that exposition into scenes and action.
If you found this helpful, check out Three Guidelines to Better Writing
Posted by Ben Corman at 10:58 AM